Hello Ebbie and welcome to Whispers. I hope you enjoy our forum - there are lots of friendly people here who are always here in a crisis and just as much when there isn't because they just love hearing about and seeing pictures of our four legged friends. Please make yourself at home

I am a shihtzu novice! I am 28 and live in Leeds. Last year in March I got a shihtzu cross chihuaua who was totally shihtzu really. She was called Phoebe and to say we were soul mates may sound corny but its the truth. She was killed in August after running in front of a car. The car didnt even stop. I was totally devestated. I have her picture framed with her collar and fur in it and think of her every day.Anyway in Decemebr I fekt ready for a new friend so I bought Ebony- Ebbie for short. She is totally black except for a tiny bit of white on her chest- it looks like a bib. She has a hernia but the vet said its ok thank god, however because of this the breeder sold her for £100 instead of £450 so you could say she was the perfect little bargain! Wellwhat can I say about her??? She is a real delight with a fiesty little personality. However toilet training is soooooooo hard. I was hoping she would follow the example set by Louie our jack russell cross but thats not helping. Louie eats her puppy pads so the entire thing is tricky! Any ideas?

Hi there, there are quite a few threads on here about house training. Sadly it is not something they pick up from their older family members but is something you have to work at - I will go ad bump some of the threads afterwards for you to have a read. Isabella my current puppy is 8/9 months old and is just about getting there... she is clean through the night etc but if I don't watch her in the evenings I may get a puddle on the kitchen floor (usually my fault because I have been pre-occupied). If you can walk at regular times then I find this helps once she is old enough to

I am so sorry about Phoebe and I can empathise with your agony. I have lost many of my babies over the last 30 years and it does not get any easier but when one is snatched before their time it is so hard to bear! I lost a little puppy earlier this year when I had fostered one for a local rescue and decided to adopt her. She had been making great progress and over a couple of days (a weekend actually) she went rapidly downhill and I had to have her put to sleep.

Having said that - if that had not happened then I would NOT have my gorgeous Isabella now as it had got me thinking about having a friend for Josh (who had been the only single Shih Tzu I have ever had) and as you have found with Ebbie - the perfect puppy that was meant for me came along. Phoebe would have wanted you to share your love with another little puppy who needed you - so out of tragedy has come a blessing. The pain of losing Phoebe will ease with the passing of time BUT these little souls NEVER leave our hearts!

When I lost the first of my shih tzu family, Gemma, I remember her breeder telling me that as painful as it was, it is much better to have gone through life knowing the pain of losing our dogs than NEVER having known the love of a dog and that is so very very true.

Please can we have some photos of Louie too (and if you can bear it one of Phoebe)??

Thank you for your lovely reply. Lots of people dont understand how upset I was. I was having nightmares every night about it until I got Ebbie so she has really helped.

My fiance bought me Louise the day after Phoebe died and as much as I love him he is a terrier and so doesnt have the adorable shihtzu temprement that Phoebe had.

I check Ebbie's hernia every day to make sure its soft and pops back in and if she ever gets in distress I will get her staright to the vets which is luckily only a mile away. The vet will repair it when she is speayed. The lump is big but the hernia itself is only small so he said its ok just be wary of it and keep close eye on her. I was relieved to know its only fat in the lumo as I had visions of it being gut and thought I would have to stop her playing with Louie.

I was looking for a breed of dog for my mum as we had lost our old labrador. I liked the sound of this breed and the looks too. Then I found that a child in my class had one (you can read about it HERE ) and I asked him to bring it into class - and I just fell in love!!

Hi Anna. So sorry to hear your story about poor Phoebe. Unfortunately losing a much loved pet is something that only people who have gone through it can understand. I have been through the pain several times, but as Lesley says it never gets any easier. Luckily you now have Ebbie and she will help you recover. She sounds a real little cutie, and is going to be very spoiled I am sure!